Sears Exec Pays Most in 5 Years in St. Charles

List Price: $3.2 millionSale Price: $3.1 millionThe Property: A custom-built, 11,000-square-foot house on a little more than two acres in the far western suburb of St. Charles commanded the town’s highest home price in five years when it sold July 1…

By Dennis Rodkin

Published July 18, 2011

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List Price: $3.2 millionSale Price: $3.1 millionThe Property: A custom-built, 11,000-square-foot house on a little more than two acres in the far western suburb of St. Charles commanded the town’s highest home price in five years when it sold July 1.

Built in 2005, the 15-room house has six bedrooms, six fireplaces, and five full and two partial baths. The interior is “spectacular,” according to Debora McKay, the Coldwell Banker agent who sold the house. “Every room had significant interest, whether it was architectural features or the paint finishes.” A barrel-vaulted ceiling spans much of the second floor, she says, and custom paint finishes on all levels—including the basement—were applied by a painter flown in from Italy for the task. “Everywhere, the details are just incredible,” McKay says.

Outside are a pool, spa, and waterfall, as well as extensive landscaping. “When [the owners] were building, it was a relatively plain lot,” McKay says, “but they brought in massive trees and boulders and really made it into something.”

Kane County public records show that the sellers are Thomas and Debra Aird. The buyer, Sam Solomon, in April left his post as president and CEO of the Coleman Co., the Wichita, Kansas–based camping-equipment company, to work for Sears as a senior vice president and president of the tools division.

McKay says the home was not on the open market, but the Airds had told her they were interested in selling. She arranged to show the buyer the property, she says, “and it was love at first sight.”

I was not able to reach either the Airds or Solomon for comment.

Price Points: This is the highest price paid for a home in St. Charles since a $3.5 million sale in March 2006, according to Midwest Real Estate Data LLC. McKay says the sellers “had probably $4.5 million into it,” which suggests that Solomon made the purchase for about 31 percent off the cost to build the home and landscape the property.